July 13, 2006

Of parents and their inconsistencies

The latest saga in the non-logic of my parents:

My parents have had two small Japanese soy sauce jars as part of their very small collection of family antiques for as long as I can remember. They never meant anything to me until I was in my second year of Japanese at university and we were forced to translate a text on the production and export of soy sauce from Japan to Europe in the 18/19th century. When I got back to the Netherlands after that year, it clicked: the jars at my parents' are exactly identical to the descriptions which I had had to translate so frustratingly a year earlier.

Since then I've always said that I want those two jars – at an unspecified time in the future at which my parents will actually allow me to take them. In my mind that wouldn't be for a few more decades. Fine. Eventually I'm sure they would end up in my house.

So a few months ago some acquaintances visited my parents' house, saw the jars, and were all excited because they have two as well – "and oh, machiruda would like some? No problem, we'll take them for her next time we're here!". Great, that went faster than expected.

The problem?My mum at that moment decided that actually it wasn't a problem if I took her two jars as well because she wasn't really doing anything with them anyway. *SIGH*So now I have four almost identical 'antique' soy sauce jars. And in the tiny home that is my apartment I still haven't found a proper place to showcase them.

P.S. apologies for the bad picture, but I figured I should at least show what this story is about. The jars are really nothing special, but just fun to have because of the history part of it. And hey, now I own some antiques!